Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
20973~2
Improved Aluminum Alloy For Armoured Cable Wrap
Background of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in aluminum alloy
for use in armoured cable wrap which permits the use of less
aluminum alloy in the cable wrap, achieving lighter
construction whilst still meeting cable strength requirements.
It also relates to an alloy strip for use in making the cable
wrap and to the armoured cable wrap formed from the strip.
Metal armoured electrical cables have been known for many
years in which an electrical conduit is contained within a
metal wrap or sheath. This armour wrap is typically formed
from steel or aluminum alloys with a thin strip of metal being
formed into a spiral with an overlap between each turn or
convolution of the strip. When formed into a wrap, the metal
strip typically takes on an "S" curve shape in cross-section
with varying wall thickness. The metal strips used for this
purpose are supplied in a number of different sizes depending
upon the diameter of the cable. Typical thicknesses and
widths respectively are (a) 0.025 inches x 0.375 inches (b)
0.034 inches x 0.5 inches (c) 0.04 inches x 0.75 inches and
(d) 0.06 inches x 1.0 inch. The flexibility of the cable or a
particular design is typically governed by the number of turns
per unit length of armour wrap, and Underwriters Laboratories,
for example, specify a minimum of 43 turns per foot of length
for the 0.025 inches x 0.375 inches (0.64 mm x 9.5 mm) strip.
In addition to meeting flexibility requirements, armoured
cable wrap must meet various strength standards, for example
crush resistance, but more particularly with regard to tension
or pull-out. Of course, there is at the same time always the
desire to achieve as light a construction as possible.
In attempting to produce lightweight cable through use of
aluminum alloys, cable manufacturers have attempted to reduce
the amount of material required in the cable wrap by using
designs with as few turns per unit length as possible and as
thin a wall section as possible. However, they have been
limited by the requirements of strength standards. Typically,
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in order to meet strength standards, manufacturers are
required to produce armour electrical cable (for wrap produced
from 0.025 x 0.375 inch strip) meeting Underwriters
Laboratories minimum pull test requirements of 300 pounds (at
100% pass rate). For aluminum alloy armour wrap, this
requires as many as 49 to 50 turns/foot and a finished wall
thickness of 0.02 to 0.025 inches (0.5 to 0.6 mm) to pass. As
an alternative, steel can be used for producing the armour
wrap, which allows the strength requirements to be met, but
with a penalty on weight.
In order to produce aluminum alloy cable wrap with
minimum material requirements, it is necessary to be able to
reduce the number of turns per foot of armour wrap down close
to the minimum of 43 turns/foot permitted by regulations for
0.025 x 0.375 inch strip and to be able to use a minimum
thickness wall construction. However, current aluminum alloy
materials do not permit this. In order to form an armour
wrap, a high degree of formability is needed to make the
narrow radius bends that are required and such formability is
not found in available aluminum alloys accompanied by the high
strength needed to assure that the strength tests can be met.
Typical alloys that have been used for this purpose
include Aluminum Association designated alloys: AA3004 (nom.
1.2% Mn, 1.0% Mg), AA5052 (nom. 2.5% Mg, 0.25% Cr), AA5154
(nom. 3.5% Mg, 0.25% Cr). Other alloys have been proposed.
For example Yanagida et al, U.S. Patent 3,961,944, issued June
8, 1976 discloses an alloy containing less than 1.7% Mn and
less than 0.8% Cr with optional Li intended for use in armour
wrap with low eddy current characteristics while retaining
high formability.
It is, therefore, the purpose of the present invention to
provide an aluminum alloy material which can be used to
produce lightweight armour cable wrap which meets or exceeds
the requirements of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) tests for
strength.
20973s2
Summary of the Invention
According to the present invention, it has been
determined that aluminum alloys can be developed with a
particular combination of alloying elements meeting the above
minimum material requirements together with the formability
and strength requirements. Thus, the aluminum alloy of the
present invention for use as armoured cable wrap is one
containing (by weight) 2.8-3.5% Mg, 0.25-0.70% Mn, 0.15-0.35%
Cr and optionally up to 0~5% Cu. Although many alloys are
known which contain Mg, Mn, Cr and Cu, the use of the ratios
stated above provides the specific properties required for use
in armour cable wrap. Whilst strength can be increased by
addition of any of the above alloying elements and principally
Mg and Mn, addition of Mg must be limited to prevent work
hardening which would result in armour wrap with poor
formability. Similarly, excessive Mn will impair formability.
Use of Cu has some beneficial effects, but excessive amounts
result in lowered recrystallization temperatures and a
variation in mechanical properties with annealing temperature
which is unacceptably high for commercial use. Therefore, the
Cu is considered optional in this alloy. The Cr has a
significant beneficial effect in ensuring a high recrystal-
lization temperature and therefore ensures good property
stability for commercial use. The particular combination of
the alloying elements therefore ensures the formability
required for processing into armour cable wrap along with
strength required to pass UL strength tests, and the stability
of properties under commercially useful processing conditions.
Thus, one embodiment of this invention comprises an
armoured cable wrap having improved pull out strength
consisting essentially of an alloy of aluminum, about 2.8-3.5
percent by weight Mg, about 0.25-0O70 percent by weight Mn and
about 0.15-0.35 percent by weight Cr, wherein the alloy has
been partially annealed to an ultimate tensile strength of at
least 265 MPa prior to forming said wrap.
A
2097352
3a
A further embodiment comprises an aluminum alloy strip
material suitable for use in the manufacture of armoured cable
wrap having improved pull out strength. The strip material
has a thickness of up to 0.060 inches (1.52 mm), a width of up
to 1 inch (25.4 mm) and is formed of an aluminum alloy
consisting essentially of aluminum, about 2O8-3.5 percent by
weight Mg, about 0.25-0.70 percent by weight Mn and about
0.15-0.35 percent by weight Cr, wherein the strip material has
been partially annealed to an ultimate tensile strength of at
least 265 MPa before being used in the manufacture of the
armoured cable wrap.
A particularly preferred aluminum alloy according to this
invention is one containing 2.8-3.2~ Mg, 0.32-0.42~ Mn,
0.18-0.28~ Cr and up to 0.1~ Cu. The aluminum is preferably
commercial purity aluminum (with the usual impurities) and
the aluminum may be grain refined using Ti alone or together
with B.
The aluminum alloy can be prepared by any known
commercial method and can be conveniently cast and formed by
well-known methods. For instance, a billet (sometimes
.~
A
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referred to as a wire bar) can be semi-continuously (or direct
chill) cast, then hot rolled to rod or strip and subsequently
cold rolled to final strip dimensions. Alternatively an
extrusion billet can be semi-continuously cast then extruded
to rod or strip and subsequently cold rolled to final strip
dimensions. Frequently, a continuous casting, hot rolling
process (for example, Properzi or Secim casting) is used to
produce rod which is subsequently cold rolled to final strip
dimensions. After an alloy strip has been formed to final
thickness, it is typically heat treated to produce the desired
formability. For example, heat treatments at between 200 and
300OC for at least one hour may be used, but preferably the
conditions are adjusted to meet a minimum strength requirement
of at least 265 MPa Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) and
preferably 285 to 315 MPa UTS. This latter condition
corresponds to an H24 temper for the preferred alloy range.
As mentioned above, the aluminum strip may be produced in
various thicknesses and widths. A common size is 0.025 inches
thick by 0.375 inches (0.64 mm x 9.5 mm). The strip may be
formed into armour cable wrap on most armour cable wrapping
machines, for example BX Armouring Machine. Many other
continuous interlock armour machines can also be used, such as
machines manufactured by Ceeco Machinery Mfg. Ltd. of Concord,
Ontario; Cancab Technologies Ltd. of Mississauga, Ontario and
Cabletrade of Conc~rd, Ontario. When a 0.025 inches x 0.375
inches strip of the composition of this invention which has
been subjected to the heat treatment disclosed, is used in the
above cable wrapping equipment, cable having no more than 50
turns per foot and even less than 45 turns per foot can be
produced. Such a wrap has been found to have a full strength
under UL tests of at least 300 pounds at a 100% pass rate.
Examples
The invention will now be explained in greater detail by
reference to the following non-limiting examples. Unless
otherwise indicated, all parts, percentages, ratios and the
like are by weight.
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Example 1
A series of tests were conducted to compare various
physical properties of the alloys of the present invention
with aluminum alloy AA5052, which is the alloy normally used
for armoured cable wrap. Book mould castings were made of
various alloys. Compositions are identified in Table 1.
Alloys A, B and AA5052 lie outside the range of this
invention. Alloys C and E lie inside the range and alloy D
lies inside the range except for the absence of Cr.
Table 1
Alloy Mg Mn Cr Cu
AA5052 2.51 <.001 .19 <.002
A 2.53 .37 .23 .002
B 2.48 .37 .23 .31
C 2.98 .69 .23 <.002
D 3.53 .37 <.005 .31
E 3.44 .37 .21 .30
Following casting, the samples were rolled while still
hot, the cold rolled to strip and annealed at various
temperatures in the range 225 to 300~C, to simulate as closely
as possible the continuous casting/rolling/heat treating
procedure normally followed in making armour cable wrap
materials. Longitudinal tensile properties were measured and
are shown in Table 2 for the various test alloys and for
AA5052 prepared in the same manner.
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Table 2
Alloy Ultimate Tensile Strength (MPa) Yield Strength (MPa)
Heat Treat. As 225~C 250~C 275~C 300~C As 225~C 250~C 275~C 300~C
Temp. rolled rolled
AA5052 347 280 268 255 229 342 246 228 205 157
A 374 314 301 292 287 369 286 266 249 240
B 408 336 322 306 300 404 308 286 264 252
C 414 358 344 336 330 408 328 306 290 278
D 460 357 337 271 265 452 308 275 150 143
1 0 E 471 379 361 350 344 464 338 311 294 284
For samples and tests done under controlled conditions as
in this example, the yield strength is considered to be the
most useful tensile property (as opposed to larger scale and
commercial practice where Ultimate Tensile Strength may be
15 more practical). For purposes of these tests, a target yield
strength of 317 MPa was selected. This was a strength such
that armour wrap of any design made from a material of this
strength would be expected to pass Underwriters Laboratories
pull tests. In addition, it matched tensile properties of
steel based materials frequently used for this application.
Based on Table 2, Alloys B through E could meet this
requirement under the normal range of heat treatment
conditions. However, Alloy D (no Cr) shows a rapid loss of YS
with temperature which is undesirable for alloys for
commercial use and this consequently demonstrates the need for
Cr in the alloy of this invention.
The YS of 317 MPa could be used to interpolate within
Table 2 to determine the exact heat treatment conditions
required to obtain this YS. For some alloys (A, B and AA5052)
the interpolation is somewhat imprecise since the heat-
treatment temperature equivalent to the as-rolled condition is
not well defined. For purposes of this example a value of
70+20~C was selected.
2~9735 2
Formability tests (Erichsen cup heights and minimum bend
radii - longitudinal and transverse) were conducted for the
same alloys and over the same heat treatment conditions.
Using the interpolated heat treatment temperatures
corresponding to a YS of 317 MPa, the formability results were
interpolated for each alloy corresponding to a yield strength
of 317 MPa. These results are shown in Table 3.
Table 3
Alloy Anneal1 R/t (L) R/t (L) Erichsen4
Temp (~C)
AA5052 110+155 1.70 1.91 .123
A 167+85 1.65 1.44 .144
B 211+25 2.08 1.61 .173
C 238 1.50 1.13 .164
D 213 1.75 1.18 .148
E 244 1.49 1.06 .161
L Annealing temperature (~C) for 317 MPa yield strength as interpolated from Table 1.
Bend test ratio for sample taken in longitudinal direction and bent lldn ,velsely.
3 Bend test ratio for sample taken in lldl~vt;l~e direction and bent longitudinally.
4 Erichsen cup height in inches.
2 0 5 For AA5052 and alloy A and B, annealing temperatures for YS 317 MPa required extrapolation
below minimum test ~nn~lin~ temperature condition. It was assumed that "as-rolled" condition
was appl.~ tely equal to 70+20~C annealing temperature for this extrapolation.
For good performance as an armour wrap material, alloys
of equal YS, in this case 317 MPa, should have low values of
2 5 bend test ratio as this is the best measure of the required
formability for this application. High values of Erichsen cup
height are also useful but not as critical for armour cable
wrap applications.
It is clear that the samples C, D and E show superior
formability at the required strengths. Addition of both Mg
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and Mn over the standard AA5052 is beneficial. Copper also
shows beneficial results, but the benefit can be equalled by
Mn and Mg additions, making it a useful but optional alloying
element. Chromium appears in these examples to be also
optional for formability but as noted above is essential to
ensure that tensile (and other) properties are stable under
the usual range of annealing temperature variation experienced
in commercial practice.
Consequently, only the samples C and E, lying within the
range of composition of this invention meet all the
requirements of armour cable wrap materials.
Example 2
An aluminum alloy of composition 3.0% Mg, 0.37% Mn, 0.23%
Cr and 0.05% Cu based on commercial purity aluminum was cast
using a commercial Properzi casting method and continuously
hot rolled to rod. The rod was then cold rolled to a strip
of nominal thickness 0.026 inches (0.66 mm) by 0.375 inches
(9.5 mm) wide and annealed at temperatures between 240 and
300~C for periods of 4 hours at temperature, these conditions
being selected in order to achieve an Ultimate Tensile
Strength of 312 MPa. The UTS was selected as a more
appropriate control parameter than yield strength for large
scale production of material. An armour cable wrap was formed
having approximately 43-45 turns per foot of length using a
conventional cable forming machine. Such a machine deforms
the original strip to an approximate "S" shape of variable
thickness. Whilst subject to some measurement uncertainty,
the thickness of the "S" shaped material at the arc of the "S"
corresponding to a minimum OD in the finished cable was
selected for comparative measurements. For armour cable
formed in the above way, based on the alloy of this invention
a wall thickness of 0.025 inches (0.63 mm) was obtained. This
armour cable wrap was then subjected to standard Underwriters
Laboratories pull tests (ANSI/UL4 - 1986).
As a control, an armoured cable wrap was prepared using
similar equipment from conventional AA5052 alloy and subjected
2~973~2
to the same pull tests. The results obtained are shown in
Table 4 below:
Table 4
AA5052 control Alloy of
invention
Avr. Pass Weight (Lbs) 260 375
Range of Pass Weight (Lbs) 240-315 330-430
To meet UL specifications, the product must meet a
minimum pull requirement of 300 lbs at 100% pass rate. The
alloy of this invention easily meets this requirement whereas
the control (the usual alloy) does not.
Example 3
The pull-out strength of armour wrap produced from the
alloy of this invention, as described in Example 2 was
compared with various other known aluminum alloy wrap
materials which are commercially available (Sl to S4). The
characteristics of the different wrap materials and the
results obtained are shown in Table 5 below:
Table 5
~loy Turns/ft OD(mm) ID(mm) WallThick PullOut
(mm) (Lbs) as
per UL4
Alloyof 43-45 12.5 7.8 .63 375
Example 2
Sl AA5052 49 13.4 9.7 .54 312
S2 A~A5052 50.5 13.2 8.6 .40 175
S3 ~k~3104 46.5 14.1 10.1 .59 290
S4 ~3104 46 14.6 9.6 .57 282
As noted in Example 2, the measurement of wall thickness
is imprecise. However, the samples based on the alloy of
Example 2, Sl, S3 and S4 are of similar dimensions with the
2d~73~2
sample S2 being significantly thinner wall. Based on these
results it can be seen that armour cable wrap made with the
alloy of this invention (Alloy of Example 2) has a pull out
strength greater than typical commercial armour wraps. It
achieves this improvement with fewer turns per foot, and
therefore can be made as a lighter weight construction.
